Want someone who has served as a law clerk, as a partner in a Lehigh Valley law firm, and who has been admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court? Victor Scomillio is asking for your vote.

How about a longtime prosecutor who promises that anyone who comes before him will know they got a fair shake? Abe Kassis wants you to check his name.

Those are the three candidates running in the May 19 primary, seeking nomination for a 10-year term on the bench. They are cross-filed and competing in both parties' contests, hoping to win support to continue on to November's general election.

Judicial elections are different from those of mayor or county council, with ethical rules and traditions that frown upon would-be judges revealing their opinions on the political controversies of the day. This cycle is no departure from that, with the choice boiling down to which candidate persuades voters that his background makes him the most qualified.

Scomillio, 42, of Palmer Township is the lone Republican in the race. He is a 1997 graduate of Penn State's Dickinson School of Law who started his career as a clerk for then-county Judge Robert Simpson. He is a member of the Bethlehem firm Holzinger Harak & Scomillio, a former court-appointed defense attorney and a former president of the Northampton County Bar Association.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL

Sam Murray is running for judge in Northampton County

Sam Murray is running for judge in Northampton County (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO, THE MORNING CALL)

When Scomillio announced his candidacy in January, he was also the county's chief solicitor in Executive John Brown's administration, a post he resigned to pursue his campaign. Though Brown has fought criticism from County Council and county workers, Scomillio said his role adds another layer to his resume.

"I was solicitor for Northampton County, and that experience has given me an insight into areas of concern, and the needs, of our county," Scomillio said.

Scomillio said that as a judge, he would like to be involved in the county's recently launched problem-solving courts, which seek to divert minor offenders with drug or mental-health problems into treatment instead of jail. He'd like to see the focus expanded to military veterans.

"For the last 15 years, I've been doing a good amount of court-appointed defense work and I've seen those suffering from drug addiction and in need of mental health services," Scomillio said. "These courts are an opportunity to take those defendants out of the criminal justice system."

Kassis, 48, of Bethlehem Township is a Democrat with a law degree from Northern Illinois University. He has been an assistant district attorney for 16 years and has a solo civil practice. He is president of the county's bar association.

"I don't have any reservations about my ability to be in a courtroom and how a courtroom is supposed to be run," Kassis said. "I've been doing this for 22 years as a lawyer; I'm very practiced."

Kassis, who ran unsuccessfully for judge in 2013, said he has the demeanor needed for the bench.

"If I'm a judge and I'm sitting up there before a litigant, they're going to have a fair hearing and they are going to be treated with respect. Everyone needs to understand that."

Murray, 56, of Hanover Township is also a Democrat who, like Kassis, has unsuccessfully sought a judgeship before, in 2009. He is a graduate of Seton Hall University School of Law and has been a lawyer for 32 years, practicing criminal, civil and family law. He also has served as a court-appointed child custody master and juvenile court hearing officer.

"What distinguishes me? Ten years running a courtroom, judicial experience," said Murray, noting his role in juvenile court, which he gave up to run for office.

Murray said he has worked in "just about every area" of law and has done so longer than his opponents.

"I say this in a neutral manner, not in a negative way: They just have significantly less experience than me," Murray said.

Campaign finance reports filed last week show that each candidate will have the funds to get his message out. Kassis raised the most at $66,900, though that included $25,000 of his own money. Scomillio had $44,500 in contributions, including $7,275 in self-financing. Murray had $36,900 in receipts, including $5,000 from himself.

A seat on Northampton County's nine-member bench is open because of the elevation of Judge Edward Smith last year to the federal courts. County judges will earn $176,572 this year.